The best hikes from bus stations in Valley Of Stones National Nature Reserve

The parish church is pretty much the only thing left of the Benedictine abbey. It is beautifully preserved and well-maintained.

Not much is really left of the old Benedictine abbey. Remaining building parts are used commercially today. The parish church is still beautifully preserved.

Great place to rest and take in the views

The "Moot Stone" is a significant, if easily overlooked, historical landmark located on the ridge above the valley near Abbotsbury and Portesham. While the term "moot" refers to an ancient Anglo-Saxon assembly place used for political, administrative, and judicial meetings, the Moot Stone specifically serves as a geographical marker for the Uggescombe Hundred. Here are the key details about it:Historical Significance: In Anglo-Saxon Wessex, a "hundred" was an administrative unit comprising roughly 100 "hides" of land. The Moot Stone is believed to mark a point of high importance for this area, which once extended from the outskirts of Weymouth to Bridport and as far north as Compton Valence. Appearance: It is a large, unassuming stone. Because it is essentially a boundary marker, it is quite easy to miss unless you are specifically looking for it while walking the ridgeway trails. Purpose: The name suggests that this was the site where the people of the Uggescombe Hundred would gather to "moot"—or hammer out—local legal and administrative matters. Though it would have been a very exposed and "draughty" place for a meeting, its location was likely chosen for its prominence and centrality to the surrounding parishes.

The Grave of William Weare William Weare, who died in 1675, was a committed Royalist during the English Civil War. According to local legend, he harbored a peculiar death wish: he desired to be buried "neither in the church nor outside it." A long time ago, during a fierce winter storm, the church bells began to ring completely on their own in the dead of night. The local vicar, thinking it was pranksters, marched up to the heavy wooden doors. But when he pushed them open, the church was completely empty, bathed in an eerie, pale blue light. Sitting in the pews were not people, but the shimmering phantoms of old smugglers who had used the churchyard to hide their illegal casks of brandy years before. As the vicar gasped, the phantom crew raised a silent toast to the altar, and the bells abruptly stopped. When the sun rose, the local blacksmith went to check the bell tower and found the massive iron clappers rusted solid—meaning they couldn't have made a sound by human hands.

When you look out over Abbotsbury, the rolling hills present a striking landscape shaped by thousands of years of human hands. Instead of smooth, uniform hills, the slopes are dramatically stepped and contoured, telling the story of ancient and medieval survival. The Rolling Hills View The chalk and limestone hills of the South Dorset Ridgeway drop sharply into the Abbotsbury Vale. This creates a dramatic contrast: steep, stark ridges covered in wild gorse and grass that soften into a green, undulating basin before meeting the sea. The landscape is a quilt of ancient hedgerows, steep valleys, and dramatic mounds, the most prominent being Chapel Hill, which rises like a small wave right on the edge of the village.

Great place for free parking if you get here early enough

Hardy’s Monument: climb 120 steps to look like a sweaty mess, just so you can stare at Dorset, the sea, and sheep that look like popcorn. On a clear day, you can see your house!